1969 Corvette Beach Buggy Hides a First-Gen Hemi Surprise

The Jersey Shore

The Jersey Shore is covered with a layer of powdery white sand so deep that ordinary SUVs often end up trapped. If you want to go fish the surf when the beach is open to vehicles, as Dewey Powell does, you need to bring something pretty specialized to keep you from getting beached. Spotted by Super Chevy at Atlantic City's Strictly Corvettes Show, this 1981-bodied 'Vette certainly qualifies.

To understand the engineering that went into this thing it helps to know a little about Powell's background. He grew up in a motorsport family. His uncle owned one of the hottest dirt tracks in South Jersey, called, at various times, Atlantic City Speedway, Pleasantville Speedway, and Powell Speedway. Powell built his share of drag and dirt cars, and explains that dirt racers commonly mix whatever parts they need to cross the finish line, as well as being aces at creative fixes. These skills came in handy because Powell's 'Vette has its share of fixes and mixes.

Origins

When Powell first found the Corvette, in 1976, it was a '69 and still had it's original body. It also had a turbocharged LS6 454 under the hood and had been used for drag racing. The salt air had its way with the car though, and the body was also just about done. Not a problem for Powell. He found an '81 body at a nice price and dug in.

Fire Power

Powell knew he wanted to use the car on the beach, so before the new body went on he started to outfit the 'Vette for 4WD. He intended to keep the Corvette V8-powered, so going with a Cadillac Eldorado front-wheel-drive system was an logical choice. However, with only a 98-inch wheelbase to work with he needed to find an engine shorter than the big-block Chevy. Powell drew on his racing experience and lined up a 392 ci first-gen Hemi pulled form a 1958 Chrysler New Yorker for the job.

>>Join this conversation about the 1969 Corvette Beach Buggy with a Hemi right here in Dodge Forum.

Chunk

While an old Hemi might be shorter than a big-block Chevy, it should surprise no one that it's not lighter. With a Turbo-Hyrdamatic transmission, 1,800 rpm stall-speed torque converter, and transfer case attached, the Hemi tips the scales at circa 1,000 lbs. Powell is running 10.5:1 compression in the 392, and the Hemi's hydraulic cam provides 0.490" of lift. The dual-quad intake manifold sheds a few valuable lbs via aluminum construction, and Powell plans to replace the twin Edelbrock carburetors with 600 cfm Holleys. Powell needed to set the Hemi back three inches in the chassis to make room for the aluminum circle track radiator, and ignition magneto—yes, magneto—so he fabricated a new firewall in lieu of altering the original.

>>Join this conversation about the 1969 Corvette Beach Buggy with a Hemi right here in Dodge Forum.

Eldo Plus

The Corvette's front suspension, spindles, brakes, power steering, and even portions of front fame are all '70s Cadillac Eldorado-sourced, but the front halfshafts had to be made custom. Power travels from the transmission to a Jeep transfer case, and from there a one-piece driveshaft runs to the rear differential, while a two-piece unit transmits power to the front diff. The 'Vette utilizes coilovers up front, and in the rear, the stock Corvette IRS benefits from a fiberglass GM mono-spring and heavy duty stock-car-spec shocks.

>>Join this conversation about the 1969 Corvette Beach Buggy with a Hemi right here in Dodge Forum.

Beach Body

To run the huge-for-a-Corvette BFGoodrich Off Road T/A tires (33x12x15") on Ion bead-lock wheels (11x15") he wanted, Powell relieved the wheel arches and added L88 flares to the C3's fenders. A raised hood clears the carbs and air cleaner without looking out of place. The stock pop-up headlights and mechanisms have been deleted to add more airflow through the tranny cooler and radiator, and low-mounted Chrysler Imperial units, though not cool flip-ups, now light the way. The front bumper is also missing and in its place is a functional fishing rack.

>>Join this conversation about the 1969 Corvette Beach Buggy with a Hemi right here in Dodge Forum.

Plastic Surgery

Sharp eyes will spot something amiss with the back end—the '81 bumper cover was done for, so Powell replaced it with one from an earlier C3 and fitted it with LED tail lamps. Just about the only thing recognizably '81 remaining are the front fender vents. Powell de-badged body and had the 'Vette sprayed with eight coats of indestructible black Imron. For the crowning touch he fitted the Corvette with a roof rack for carrying his fishing rods.

>>Join this conversation about the 1969 Corvette Beach Buggy with a Hemi right here in Dodge Forum.

Inside Out

The 'Vette's interior is no-nonsense stock except for all-new gauges, and sturdy toggle switches to control various operations mounted to rudimentary sheet metal plates. And of course there's an extra shifter, for the 4WD set-up, poking up to the right of the sheet steel console.

With more than 190,000 miles on the beach combing Corvette, Powell is happy with his creation, though he does plan to mount a winch behind a flip-down rear license plate. Unlucky beachgoers who get stuck in the sand are happy too when he comes to their rescue in his Hemi-powered Corvette. "You should see the look on their faces when I come up the beach in this thing," he told Super Chevy. "First, they hear me-it sounds like a big truck, then this black Corvette comes around the bend." So if you're ever out cruising the Jersey Shore and spot a tall black Corvette, bend an ear. If you hear the rumble of an old Chrysler Hemi, it's probably Powell.

>>Join this conversation about the 1969 Corvette Beach Buggy with a Hemi right here in Dodge Forum.

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